


Home Late

by vials



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: F/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-02 18:13:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11514765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vials/pseuds/vials
Summary: This isn't the first time Yusef hasn't been back when he said he would, but it is the first time Vesper has felt something other than annoyance or worry.





	Home Late

Vesper didn’t remember falling asleep, but she must have done so at one point. She was confused and disoriented at first; the light was still on beside her, and her book rested on the bed next to her arm. She wasn’t even under the covers properly, and it took her a moment to remember what she had been doing before she fell asleep.

The sound of footsteps in the hallway reminded her, and she relaxed slightly as she recalled she had simply been waiting up for Yusef. It wasn’t something that was uncommon these days, but she had been worried that night: Yusef had been uncharacteristically late even for him, and Vesper would have been lying to herself if she tried to say that she hadn’t been worried. Of course, she had been frustrated at first, because she was beginning to tire of hearing Yusef assure her he wouldn’t be long tonight and not to worry, only for the minutes to turn into hours. She had been frustrated the last few times this had happened, but that night Yusef had been late enough that her anger had turned to worry, and her mind had begun to supply her with images of him laying injured somewhere, unable to reach her.

She heard him shrugging his coat off and the sound of him placing his shoes next to hers by the door. She could picture him moving around the flat just from the sounds: into the kitchen first, the tap going as he got a drink. She heard him place the cup to dry on the draining board and then check the fridge for anything to eat, before apparently realising he wasn’t hungry after all – there was plenty in there but he didn’t take anything. Then his footsteps moved back into the hallway, moving closer to the bedroom door before it creaked open and he peered in through the gap.

“You’re still awake?” he asked, as Vesper pushed herself up into a sitting position. “It’s nearly one in the morning.”

Vesper studied him for a moment but there was nothing to explain where he had been. He seemed relaxed and he was sober, but Vesper couldn’t for the life of her think about where he had been so late at night.

“I was worried,” she said. “I thought I would wait up. I wouldn’t be able to sleep properly if I didn’t know where you were. What happened?”

“Nothing interesting,” Yusef said. He began moving around the room, finding more comfortable clothing to change into. “It was actually quite dull, if I’m honest. I went to see Frankie, like I told you, but his wife just left him. He seems to think she was having it off with her boss, but to be honest with you I’m not entirely sure where he got that impression from. She just doesn’t seem the type, you know? Anyway, I tried to lend a sympathetic ear but I don’t think he was interested in that. He just wanted to talk it through out loud and only seemed to notice I was there when I tried to get away.” Yusef paused, before turning and giving her an amused smile. “What can you do? I tried to get away to call, but I couldn’t even managed that. I only escaped when he fell asleep.”

Vesper nodded, but didn’t entirely buy the story. It seemed too rehearsed, and deep down she knew it was a lie. Perhaps some of it was the truth – for example, she could believe he met a man called Frankie – but as for the rest of it she didn’t buy it. She struggled for a moment, wondering if she should bring it up. Most people would assume that the only logical conclusion would be that Yusef was cheating on her, but Vesper’s gut instinct told her that wasn’t the case. She couldn’t explain how she knew, but in the same way she knew the Frankie story was a lie, she knew Yusef wasn’t cheating on her. If she were honest with herself, that worried her more. At least if he was seeing another woman that would be _normal._ Heartbreaking, of course, and she would kick his arse up and down the street, but it was nothing to worry about in the grand scheme of things. It was a normal thing that normal arseholes did. What worried Vesper was that there were few secrets in a couple outside of an affair, and they made for grim discoveries. Money issues, ending up on the wrong side of a bad crowd, crime… whatever it was, it would be bad. Cheating, in Vesper’s opinion, was the least of all secretive evils. 

“You’re quiet,” Yusef pointed out, sitting on the bed and looking at her. “You’re angry at me?”

“No,” Vesper said, before pausing, chewing at her lip. “Well, a little bit. I was mostly worried. I…” For some reason she almost told him what she had been thinking. He furrowed his brow in what could have been concern, but was actually what Vesper recognised as suspicion. She quickly changed tactics. “I missed you. So much.”

His gaze lingered for a moment and Vesper deflected it by moving over to him and kneeling next to him, putting her arms around him. After a brief hesitation he hugged her back, and she heard him laugh softly. 

“What do you think I’m going to do?” he asked. “I’d be a fool to run away when I have you at home.”

Despite her earlier worries, Vesper felt a swell of affection at his words. She moved back slightly and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

“You had better not forget it,” she told him. “Worrying me all the while.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” Yusef said, as sincerely as Vesper had ever heard him. To her dismay, it did nothing for the tightness in her chest.


End file.
